Newly Renovated and Enlarged Baylor Bookstore To Be Dedicated Friday

Baylor University, in partnership with Follett Higher Education Group, will dedicate the newly renovated and enlarged Baylor Bookstore during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 2:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 3 at the bookstore on South Fifth Street on the Baylor campus.

The ceremony will include comments by Baylor President John Lilley and Follett administrators. The public is invited to attend.

The $2.3 million dollar renovation and expansion, a culmination of many months of planning and construction, is part of a long-term agreement between Baylor and Follett. Follett, which operates more than 740 stores nationwide and completes more than 80 store renovations annually, was proud to partner with Baylor in designing an all-encompassing bookstore.

Follett's design team, in conjunction with Baylor's in-house design team, incorporated elements that reflect the campus character, including dark wood finishes, custom designed carpets and design elements, to reflect Baylor traditions. The relocation and addition of a two-story entrance facing Fifth Street creates an overall ambiance that invites students, faculty, staff and friends to browse the store's expanded selection of merchandise. The new larger retail floor provides greater shopping ease and increases merchandise space to allow for an improved clothing and gift selection.

The store was designed to include an educational atmosphere and increase the visibility of academic trade and reference books. To service the diverse reading interests of the Baylor community, the Baylor Bookstore stocks an extensive selection of reading materials from both university and religious presses and quality publishing houses. The store was designed as a destination point by incorporating comfortable seating arrangements overlooking the newly remodeled Bear Habitat. Other accomplishments of this renovation include:

Moved the store's entrance to Fifth Street for a greater presence

Added more than 4,000-square-feet of retail sales space

Added textbook and general book information counters

Added two accessible restrooms

Created a children's book area with seating

Added counters for an additional eight registers during rush periods

"We want this store to be the heart of the university's book, supply, Baylor apparel and gift needs, but we want it to be considered a meeting place as well. We know we've achieved this goal in our renovation," said Anne Richards, director of the Baylor Bookstore.

"This renovation has certainly met our expectations," said Bob Spence, associate vice president for financial services and treasurer at Baylor. "Not only do we have a beautiful updated facility, but a store in which the entire campus can take pride. We believe that the renovation and expansion of the Baylor Bookstore places it in the class of elite college and university bookstores in the nation."

The Baylor Bookstore is the official bookstore of Baylor University and is located at 1201 South Fifth Street, Waco, Texas. Store hours are Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and closed on Sunday. Hours are extended for football games and other special events.